1999 Expansion Plan
The 1999 Expansion Plan was a failed experiment by the CHL Committee to further expand the CHL into the United States, and to add three more teams across Canada. The proposed cities were as follows: Sacramento, California, Rochester, New York, Indianapolis, Indiana, Cleveland, Ohio, Seattle, Washington, Quebec City, Quebec, Prince George, Vancouver, and Edmonton, Alberta. Although Edmonton would later recieve a CHL franchise, it would not be via the 1999 Expansion Plan. Development The Expansion Plan was proposed by high-ranking Committee member Adrian Vrinnes on February 23, 1996, and steadily he, and his plan, gained popularity among other Committee members. The Committee sent representatives on April 7 to Quebec City, to talk about gaining a CHL franchise there. Quebec City had been hoping to gain a NHL franchise, but had failed to do so as of then, so the city grugindly agreed. Later that month (April 20) representatives were sent to Cleveland, Ohio. They were met with more resistance than the folks in Quebec City, but agreed to meet again on another day.Sending representatives to Prince George, Vancouver, was a huge success in the eyes of the Committee, especially for the CHL Commissioner at the time, Matt Cighem, for that was the town he was born and raised. The citizens of Prince George were more than happy to accept his open hand. Cighem himself was one of the three men who went to the Prince George town hall to speak with mayor John Backhouse about the proposition. The CHL officials met with the cities of Seattle, Washington on October 2, 1996, and things quickly went sour there. The officials were almost completely against the idea of brining a Canadian Hockey League team to a city that had long been seeking a National Hockey League franchise. On that same day, other representatives traveled to Edmonton, Alberta, and recieved a warm welcome there. Edmonton officials readily accepted the idea, and put away 20 million extra Canadian dollars to help fund the expansion franchise. On October 3, 1996, the officials reported back to Cighem, who was greatly pleased with the developments. Sacramento, California was chosen to be the hotspot for the expansion program, and some on the Committee even suspected that the CHL governing body would move to the Western town if all went well. Sacramento mayor Joe Serna, Jr. was fully gunning for the CHL expansion, and donated $15m (American dollars) to the cause. Representatives met with the mayor on October 12, 1996, and discussed terms. Sacramento, which is the capital city of California, would become the headquarters of the expansion plan until the 2004 CHL season, when it would integrate with the rest of the CHL after an evaluation by the rest of the future CHL Committee. Rochester, New York and Indianapolis, Indiana were met with on New Year's Day, 1997. Rochester, being near to Buffalo, New York, already had good relationships with Canadian sports teams, so was for the 1999 CHL Expansion Plan. They had already been considered in 1982, by the CHL Committee for a CHL franchise, but they had been denied their petition. Rochester leapt at the opportunity to join the Canadian Hockey League, and was a fan favorite to recieve the first grant. Indianapolis had a little trouble getting an "okay" from the Fairgrounds Coliseum to be the home stadium for the future team, but on January 21, their grant was given, and Indianapolis signed on for the Expansion Plan. Things seemed to be going well. Grants The first team to get their grant from the CHL were the Rochester Gatekeepers, given their grant on March 20, 1997. The Rochester communtiy was very glad to get their grant, telling Vince Farmer from Splash Sports. "We are very grateful to the CHL for this oppurtunity to join their league. We are anxiously awaiting opening day, 1999." The Gatekeepers signed a deal with the Rochester Place. which had begun construction back in 1996 to be their home stadium for the next 10 seasons. The Gatekeepers chose Bartillo Marnigini as their first owner and general manager, starting on February 8, 1999. The Indiana Snowmen were the next team to get a grant from the CHL, and they would join the Eastern Conference later on April 4, 1997. Signing a 5yr./20million dollar deal with the Fairgrounds Coliseum was the perfect place for the Snowmen to play their games, as it was spacious yet not noisy. The Snowmen signed Tyrone Taylor to be their first general manager, and then signed Laos Wren to be their first owner. Wren was the first Asian-born owner in CHL history, and is the father of current CHL undrafted rookie, Cheng Wren. The Sacramento Devil Cats recieved their permit on April 7, 1997, three days after the Indiana Snowmen recieved their grant. Strangely,the three American teams recieved their grants before the three Canadian teams. The Devil Cats signed former CHL player Jonah Killadeer as their first general manager and owner. Then, Killadeer signed a deal with ARCO Arena, now Sleep Train Arena. The Devil Cats were named synonymous with the Sacramento River Cats, a minor league baseball team. The first Canadian expansion team to get their grant were the Edmonton Dinos, who, along with the British Columbia Lumberjacks recieved their grant on May 1, 1997. The Dinos signed Barney Dooley as their first general manage. Dooley had previously been the general manager of the Geraldton Acorns. The Dinos signed a contract with the Edmonton Coliseum to be their home stadium for the 1999 and onward CHL season. Unfortunately, many fans were against this idea, suggesting that the Colisuem only belonged to the Edmonton Oilers of the National Hockey League, which was one of the main factors in the breaking up of the 1999 Expansion Plan. The British Columbia Lumberjacks also signed their first owner and general manager on the same day, May 1, 1997, becoming the earliest expansion team sign a owner and general manager contract. D.T. Shane would be their owner, and Casey Krun was their first general manager. The Lumberjacks would begin play at the Elksentre in Prince George, because the stadium the had planned to play in was under construction. The Lumberjacks were named after Mr. P.G., a giant lumberjack statue at the entrance of Prince George, British Columbia. The final team to get their grant were the Quebec Canards, who, being against the idea in the first place, where resolved in expression when they received their grant. That same day, on July 1, 1997, building on Blackwing Ale Gynasium broke ground. The Canards signed Timothy LeVerre to be their first manager/owner. They would begin play at the Colisée Pepsi for the 1999-00 CHL season. The name was chosen out of a hat of random names on October 3, 1997, making it the only 1999 Expansion team name that was not chosen by popular vote or by the management of the team. Further Developments After each team had gained their grants from the CHL Committee, the Committee began working on how each team would have enough players to field a franchise at the start of the proposed season (1999-00 CHL season). Of course, they would need an Expansion Draft, and it would be the first since the Hamilton Bobcats joined the league before the 1986-87 CHL season. Committee members decided that the expansion draft would take place on May 4, 1999, just five months before the start of that season. The six teams would each participate in the draft, taking six players from each of the current CHL franchises, and drafting some of their own from other high schools, colleges, and the two CHL minor leagues, the American Minor Hockey League and the Junior Hockey Organization. The Rochester Guardians were the first team to agree to this expansion draft plan, and requested that the draft be held in Rochester, New York. On October 3, 1997, the rest of the Committee agreed that the expansion draft would take place in Rochester, New York, on April 19, 1999. Although they seemed to be jumping to conclusions, this was just the beginning of plans for the six new teams. Once the date was confirmed, teams quickly began preparing logos and jersey designs, while also gathering funds from local banks and donors. The only owner who paid completely out of pocket for his franchise was Laos Wren, from the Indiana Snowmen. Things appeared to be running smoothly for the expansion plan as the draft date approached, when, on September 12, 1998, things hit a hitch in the development of the Quebec Canards. G.M. Timothy LeVerre was issued a fifth arrest for illegal marijuana possession, which resulted in him receiving six years of jail time. Due to the absurdity of the matter, the The Canards were the first franchise to bow out of the expansion program, which occurred exactly one month later, on October 12. The West Takes Charge With the Canards leaving the expansion plan, the weight of it all fell much heavier on the shoulders of the Devil Cats management, who were seen somewhat as "torchbearers" for the program. However, this didn't seem to bother the California franchise whatsoever, because everything continued to run swimmingly into the new year. Jersey sales for the new franchises spiked during the holiday season, with the Sacramento Devil Cats and the Edmonton Dinos '''having the highest sale rate during that time frame. Season ticket orders were placed at a record pace, and it was almost possible to feel the excitement in the air. Unfortunately, things would soon take a sudden downward turn, beginning on March 3, 1999. Collapse of the 1999 Expansion Plan ''see'' Timeline of 1999 Expansion Plan Collapse '''for greater detail On March 3, 1999, the Sacramento Devil Cats and the '''British Columbia Lumberjacks '''management met to discuss financial terms and to plan for the upcoming expansion draft. However, during the meeting an argument broke out concerning a pre-draft trade. Following the argument, Lumberjacks general manger Trey Salazar released a statement to the press, refusing to do any more business with the California franchise. Though the CHL Committee and the Commissioner attempted to work out negotiations between the two clubs, there was not a let up in the freeze and the teams ceased communications.